Courtesy of
Lakeshore Foundation
Regular physical activity is good for both your body and mind!
Regardless of your age or current level of activity, you can kick-start a healthier lifestyle through the 100 Alabama Miles Challenge.
How Regular Physical Activity Helps You:
- Increases your energy level
- Relieves stress, promotes relaxation, and helps prevent and/or reduce anxiety and depression
- Lowers your resting blood pressure
- Helps you lose weight
- Helps you maintain and strengthen bone and muscle
- Helps maintain healthy joints and sometimes relieves arthritis symptoms
- Reduces your risk of heart disease, type II diabetes, cancer, and other chronic conditions
- Helps you live a longer life!
Simple Guidelines for Achieving an Active, Healthy Lifestyle
- Adults should get 30 minutes of moderately-intense aerobic exercise each day, and children should get at least 60 minutes.
- Moderately-intense aerobic exercise means you are working hard enough to raise your heart rate and breathe hard.
- Everyone’s fitness level and ability is different. When choosing an activity, consider what kind of shape you are in, your level of mobility, and what you are comfortable doing.
- If you are uncertain about whether you should exercise or what kind of exercise you should undertake, talk with your doctor first.
- If you are not used to exercise, take it slow and build up to longer and harder exercise. Be patient, and you will see improvement!
- If you are currently inactive, consider taking a buddy with you to help you get started, and limit your exercise to 10 minutes at a time.
- Always drink water when you are thirsty and be careful not to overheat, especially outdoors.
- Eat more nutritious foods and reduce your consumption of sugar, sodium, and fat, found commonly in processed and fast foods.
- For important information on how to balance what you eat, drink, and do, see the American Beverage Association’s Balanced Calorie Initiative.